Permanent MAUI config file survives update of application

Question

Hello experts

I have a MAUI C# code below, for reading and writing a text file of user setting (like colors, ids, last state..) of MAUI application. Works perfect (development)! (MAUI Android and MAUI Windows)

But what happends with this setting file, if new app version is downloaded from the stores?

Android testings (internal/close) shows, that this settings file is deleted every time when new version of app is downloaded to the mobile from Google Play

How it works (production) on platforms Windows store, Tizen, Apple Store? Android Play store?

Can text file survives update of application?

Thanks a lot

W

        private static string GetSettingsFileName
        {
            get
            {
                return Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "Settings.txt");
            }
        }

        public static void WriteSettings(string Content)
        {
            File.WriteAllText(GetSettingsFileName, Content);
        }

        public static string ReadSettings()
        {
            string fName = GetSettingsFileName;
            if (File.Exists(fName))
            {
                return File.ReadAllText(fName);
            }
            else 
                return null;
        }

Answer 1

your app should not update the application settings file. you should have an additional setting file in the data folder that changes are made to. just add as the last setting file so it overrides the app settings.

Answer 2

Hello,

Thanks for your feedback.

For private data such as user settings, Google provides a solution to back up the required items through the backup function.

Data backup overview  |  Identity  |  Android Developers mentions the backup of settings.

Settings data Make sure you also back up and restore settings data to preserve a returning user's personalized preferences on a new device. You can restore settings data even if a user doesn't log in to your app. You can back up settings that a user explicitly sets in your app's UI, as well as transparent data, such as a flag indicating whether a user has seen a setup wizard.

You could refer to the following documents to learn about the two main methods of implementing backup on the Android platform.

• Back up user data with Auto Backup  |  Identity  |  Android Developers
• Back up key-value pairs with Android Backup Service  |  Identity  |  Android Developers

Best Regards,

Alec Liu.

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